Temporary binder



(No Model.)

A. L'. PRATT. TEMPORARY BINDER.

No; 259,915} Patented June 20, 1882.

N, PETERS Phola-Lilhugrapher. Washington D. c.

in constructing UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR L. PRATT, OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN.

TEMPORARY BINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,915, dated June 20, 1882-. Application filed January 18, 1882. (No model.)

To all tvhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. PRATT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kalamazoo, county of Kalamazoo, State of Michi+ gan, have invented a new and useful Temporary Binder, of which the following is -a specification.

The object of my invention consists in certain improvements in the construction of that class of devices known as temporary binders, indexed blank leaf or bill holders, and petit ledger and bill holders, 850., whereby they are made more convenient and practical for the purpose for which they are designed, and the cost of construction greatly lessened. The purpose of the device is that business men may have a convenient ledger for temporary or short-time accounts, from which the bill, when paid, may be detached and given signed as a receipt, leaving a stub in the holder showing the state of the account, said holder being intended for refilling with bills, and serving as a convenient device for carrying the bills around, either in the pocket or hand, in making collections. So far as this purpose is concerned I am not the first to devise means intended to meet the demand; but I have invented improvements which, associated with certain old features, elfect a far more practical device, the novelty and especial utility of which are set forth in the following detailed description.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective of my device complete; Fig. 2, indexleaf detached; Fig. 3, stubs detached from holder and bills; Fig. 4, plan view of index-page Fig. 5, amodification the case, and Fig. 6 a rear view of the case. I

O is the case, similar in form to a book-cover, made of very heavy board or other material covered with coarse canvas or its equivalent. The upper cover, L, is hinged or jointed at e e by severing the board at this point and allowing the canvas to serve as a hinge.

The contents F of case 0 consist of indexleaves containing a letter of the alphabet on the projecting side, as F, Fig. 4, and F, Fig. 2, and the complete alphabet in Fig. 1. These index-leaves are perforated at y y. The contents further consist of packages of blank or leaves of each package E are secured together at the rearsicle of the stubs, either with mucilage, little holders 2; n, or other practical means. These packages and the index-leaves are detachably connected with the case, also provided with holes 3 y through the top and bottom, by means of a flexible cord, C, Fig. 1. This cord, similar to a shoe laee, serves the purpose, and is provided with an elongated metal end, P, of sufiicient length to reach entirely through the holder. Thus after. all the bills proper have been detached from the stubs, said stubs, now forming distinct packages D, Fig. 3, representing classified divisions of the alphabet, which may be provided witha letter showing the same, may be readily filed away in regular order, to be referred to again, while.

the holder may be refilled again and its same use continued. Confusion is not only thus obviated in filing the stubs away, but also in refilling the holder and in handling the contents in their manufacture and shipment.-

The advantage of using a flexible cord or lace is that the contents may be more easily opened, like the leaves of a book, for which reason also the stub-ends may be much narrower, thus efiecting in an extensive business a marked saving in paper. By this means also the contents can be secured snugly or loosely, which may be readily governed when tying the cord. The looser the cord is tied the mar rower the stub-end of the package may be.

The variation shown in Fig. 5consists in making the back of the case jointed at e in the manner of making the hinge e e. In this con struction the respective parts are provided with holes 3 y, as in 'the first instance. The

cord 1" is elastic. By this arrangement the device may be opened farther and with greater freedom, and when closed again the same compaetness retained, owing to the contraction of the elastic cord. The jointed back, however, may be used to adegree of advantage with the flexible cord 0, as can also the solid back with the elastic cord 1". In the construction in Fig. 5 the stub-ends may be narrower than in either of the other methods.

Fig. 9 shows a method of securing the cords instead of tyingthem. i is aknob holding one end, and f a spring-clamp holding the other. This is especially designed for holding the elastic cord 4'. Its operation will be readily understood without further explanation. 

